We all make mistakes. There really is nothing wrong with that as long as we can take constructive feedback. A little sense of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves make everything better. Understandably, we might find it easier to chuckle when the mistake is not ours! Still, that does not mean that we should not make it a point to be open to admitting our mistakes and making sure they are corrected.

All this talk about mistakes stems from the topic of today’s grammar post. I think it’s about time we have a little fun, and take a look at some funny English signs again. While I am a stickler for grammar, especially when it comes to specific situations, I also like looking at humorous signs that may not live up to my standards. This is a good way to spend a 5- or 10-minute break from work. Try it!

Our first sign highlights the difficulty that prepositions pose for a lot of people.

No Parking Above Sign

Native English speakers may not think about it much, but the issue of prepositions is something that many learners of the language face. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if even native English speakers make preposition slips now and then. I hope that it is not this kind of mistake, though. It is kind of hard to park above a sign – unless you are a bird who “parks” on a wire!

You’re no stranger to Engrish.com, are you? They have some of the funniest signs I have seen, and since I have a sweet tooth, this just cracked me up.

We Free Dessert

I suppose that if desserts could speak, they would tell us that they are in bondage, hoping to be freed from people like me who gobble them up!

Now this is the kind of mistake that I find more irritating than funny. Some people are just too caught up in themselves thinking that they are superior to others. I believe those people are bound to mess up at one point, and sure enough, whoever made this sign made a fool of himself. ((Via Real Life Moron))

English Is Our Language

We all have our unforgettable experiences, but this sign confuses me.

An Forgettable Experience

What I do know is that the only time I rode a jet ski is an experience I will never forget. My throat and arms did not forget for a while, as well!

I saved the most hilarious one in my book for last.

Eat Here and Get Gas

So who wants to give this restaurant a go? Thanks to Vappingo for this photo. ((Vappingo))

When I was teaching ESL, lessons on confusing word pairs were inevitable. The level of the learner was irrelevant. My students all needed clarification on certain word pairs. Interestingly enough, I have discovered than even native speakers of English have similar issues. The words in question may be of a more advanced level, but the confusion remains. Just take some time to browse blogs, and you’ll find at least one example!

For this week’s grammar post, let us take a look at some of words that are used interchangeably, when they shouldn’t be.

Ingenuous and Ingenious

I’ll be honest here and tell you that I did have a problem with these two words. I suppose it was simply because of ignorance – I used to think that they were the same! There is a difference, though. Let’s call on good old Merriam Webster for some help.

For the first definitions, the difference is easy to spot and remember. In terms of language and/or response (second definitions), the chances of slipping up may be higher. Try using these words when you can so that you’ll never forget the proper use!

In oral communication, it is quite normal to speak in fragments. This is especially true for informal conversations. While I have nothing against that, it is another matter altogether when it comes to formal speech and writing. Actually, even if you’re writing informally for your blog or web site, sentence fragments should be a no no.

Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined sentence.

Go on Facebook or Twitter, and you will definitely not have a difficult time finding perfect examples of sentence fragments.

Leaving town!

Going to the pub!

A weekend of relaxation.

As I said earlier, in some cases, these fragments may be acceptable. That does not mean they are proper, though.

There are different ways to create sentence fragments. One would be to miss out on the subject. The first two examples above belong to this category. In order to fix the fragment, simply add a subject!

I am leaving town.

We are going to the pub.

Another situation is when the main verb goes missing. The last example above can be fixed by rewriting it.

I am having a weekend of relaxation.

The main thing to remember is that your sentences ought to be complete. It is a no brainer, really, but when you’re churning out content in a short span of time, it is very easy to lapse into informal speech involving sentence fragments.

The apostrophe is an innocuous-looking thing, but it does have the power to screw things up – just like the comma. I don’t know about you, but I feel so uncomfortable when I see signs and other written material that look like the following.

While not everyone has the same issues with apostrophes, we cannot deny that there are a lot of people who struggle with the use of this squiggly punctuation mark. I know some people who are reasonably good writers but still sometimes put an apostrophe when there should be none. Let me know what you think about the following examples, and then tell me what the apostrophe is doing there.

I consider myself to be a child of the ’80’s.

So is this right or wrong? I remember seeing this form used so often that at one point, I questioned my knowledge. When I looked it up, my doubts were erased. We do not use an apostrophe when writing the plural form of a noun – word or number. This sentence should therefore be written as: I consider myself to be a child of the ’80s.

Don’t forget to dot your i’s.

What’s the first apostrophe doing there? This one’s easy: we use an apostrophe for contractions. The apostrophe is always placed where the omitted letter would have been if it were not omitted.

How about the second apostrophe? The sentence obviously refers to the letter “i” – and lots of it. In the previous example, we just established that we do not use an apostrophe when writing the plural form of a noun. Shouldn’t that last word be “is” then?

You can easily spot why the apostrophe is necessary in this case. If you omit the apostrophe, the sentence will become ambiguous. Are you referring to many i’s or are you referring to the verb?

They’re fixing Silas’s bike.

What’s the apostrophe doing in the third word? I’ve heard how this form looks weird to some people, but it is actually correct. We use an apostrophe to show possession. Even if the name ends in s, the apostrophe is required. What can be changed is the presence of the second s. This is not required – the sentence can actually be re-written as:

They’re fixing Silas’ bike.

The first form, however, is preferable.

The store just received a new shipment of DVD’s.

Remember the first rule – do not use an apostrophe for plural nouns. You know how to fix this one!

We had a good year at the Freelance Writing Jobs network. We made many new friends, kept the conversation going with old friends and received some very honorable mentions.

I’d like to share with you some of the highlights of this year. Mind you, this isn’t a “best of” post as we already did that. These are things that made my year as a freelance writer and professional blogger.

FWJ partnered with Demand Studios: Also known as the shot that was heard round the freelance writing world. I was thrilled with my partnership but not everyone shared my joy. We lost many members of this community and received a lot of flack from the web world. Love it or hate it, partnering with Demand Studios is one of the highlights of the year and we stand firm in our commitment.

A major Media website inquired about acquiring FWJ: We’ve had requests from people who were interested in buying FWJ in the past, but this was a serious website ready to make a serious offer. Though we weren’t selling, their wanting to acquire us was validation that we’re doing a good thing here.

FWJ launched a new blog: FWJ launched the Grammar Guide this year. Now I’m even more paranoid about my writing.

Our procrastination post went viral: Of all the blog posts to go viral, you wouldn’t expect it to be one listing places to procrastinate, but that’s what happened. It didn’t get a lot of retweets or comments but the Stumble and link power keep giving. In fact, we still receive hundreds of visitors daily to our Procrastination Break post.

FWJ made the Top 10 Blogs for Writers four years in a row: FWJ has placed a top 5 finish in the Top 10 Blogs for Writers every year since its inception. That’s why we’re bowing out gracefully for 2010. Because we want other blogs to get a chance for this prestigious honor, we’re respectfully requesting our community nominiate blogs which wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance for the 2010 offering. It’s time to give someone else a turn.